Tuesday, May 14, 2013

No one’s really sure why this magnificent dish is called
barbecue shrimp, but since it was invented in New Orleans, let’s just assume
they had a great reason, and move on to more important issues, like
making and eating a huge plate of these.

There are countless ways to make this dish, almost all
containing copious amounts of butter, along with garlic, black pepper, and
Worcestershire sauce. This is not something you’d serve to your friend with the
bland palate. By the way, can’t believe you’re still friends with that bland
palate dude.

Anyway, feel free to adjust and adapt to your heart’s
content. My version is fairly light, which is kind of funny
to say,since I call for half a stick of butter, but I’ve seen versions that were basically
deep-fried in the stuff. So, you know, compared to that, this is like spa food.

As far as seasoning goes, be careful with the salt. The
Worcestershire is pretty salty, so you may not want to add it all to the shrimp
stock like I did. I used about 3 generous tablespoons, since I like mine pretty salty,
but it’s probably safer to just add 1 or 2 tablespoons, and then taste/adjust
later on.

Other than that, and finding some colossal shrimp (the
bigger the better), this recipe is a breeze. It may not have anything to do
with barbecue, but like its namesake, it’s incredibly delicious and another
great culinary gift from the south. I hope you try some soon. Enjoy!

Great stuff yet again! I'm a huge fan of this dish. This was one of my family's favorite dishes that my mom has perfected over the years.

Love the idea of the stock... Going to try this next time... Though I'm so used to having the shell on. We add in dry onions, minced onions or shallots, and probably a little more garlic. Also use dry thyme. There's something about having that shell on and sucking the bits of just tender garlic and onions out from the legs. Then peel and eat! Super messy and perfect.

White rice is a go to here. I also recommend a crispy baked potato. Again, this is all preference, but those babies soak up all of that fabulous sauce and make for a perfect crunchy potato skin bite.

In Louisiana they use smaller shrimp, and i suspect this is a recipe based on an original Cajun recipe corrupted in LA. It is Texans who like the colossus variety which are not as sweet hence all kind of fishing wars.

I made this to take to a friend's wedding (informal and potluck appetizers for the reception.) It was a huge hit. I was nervous about that much black pepper but the spicing is perfect. Just enough excitement without blowing away those who are more sensitive to spice. This one is going in my recipe box.

I made this a few weeks ago for the family. My wife and I really enjoyed this, but it was a bit too spicy for my kids on that particular day, and if I recall I used about half the black pepper that was called for.

My wife accidentally bought shelled shrimp, so I had to make the stock with just the tails, which was not ideal but probably fine. I strained the stock and then added it back to the stockpot to reduce for a while rather than trying to reduce it in the pan.

Anyway -- I think this was a great recipe and really easy. It vaguely reminded me of a cajun shrimp recipe my mom cooks without being feeling like a knockoff of that. I'll definitely make this again! Thanks Chef John!

I made this dish 3-4 times now and it is really really good. The only modifications I've made was to halve the pepper and rosemary. Now all the ingredients blend perfectly...mmmm. Thanks Chef John for this great recipe!